Bronx Graffiti Crew Criticizes J.Lo for No Longer Being from the Block

Jennifer Lopez, formerly of the block and the 6 train, now drives a Fiat and won’t set wheel in her home borough of the Bronx. So much so that when filming a new Fiat commercial (see below) that uses the streets of her youth as its backdrop, a double did all the location driving. But now the TATS Cru mural and graffiti crew, whose “I Heart the Bronx” mural at Whitlock Avenue and East 165th Street gets substantial screentime in the spot, wants some kind of compensation.

J.Lo and TATS Cru go way back, or at least to 2003, when they worked on the video for her track “I’m Gonna Be Alright.” Suddenly members of the graffiti crew, who knew nothing about the Fiat commercial, started getting calls from friends and fans. TATS Cru member Hector “Nicer” Nazario tells the Daily News:

We were out doing some project one day and we started getting calls saying, ‘Hey, congratulations!’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ We were shocked.

But shortly after the artists’ lawyer got in touch with Chrysler and the Michigan-based company that produced the ad, the automaker squashed the beef with the street art crew. In a statement quoted by the Daily News, Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said: “We are pleased to announce that that the parties have reached an amicable resolution to this matter. Details of this agreement are confidential.”